World's Largest Media, Data and Marketing Services Company Names 13 Winners for Smart Cities North America Awards

By B.N. Frank

Whether your community is “Smart” or not, one report recently exposed that less than 25% of cities “conduct privacy impact assessments” when deploying new technologies. That’s not good!

In regard to official “Smart Cities”, worldwide opposition has been ongoing due to significant cybersecurity, economic, environmental, health, and privacy risks already identified with them (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Nevertheless, proponents continue to laud “Smart Cities”, rank them, and give them awards.

From Smart Cities Dive:

IDC Government Insights announced the winners of its fourth annual Smart Cities North America Awards. The 13 winners are as follows:

Category	Winning Entity	Project
Administration	Harris County Engineering Department, Harris County, Texas	ePermits
Civic Engagement	Arizona State University, Scottsdale, Arizona	Arizona State University Smart City Innovation Lab
Digital Equity and Accessibility	Ocala, Florida	Ocala Fiber Network
Education	Eugene School District 4J, Eugene, Oregon	Eugene School District 4J Comprehensive Distance Learning Technology Plan
Public Health and Social Services	Clark County, Nevada	CARES Housing Assistance Program
Public Safety	Las Vegas	Smart City and Parks
Smart Buildings (TIE)	NYC Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, New York	NYCx CoLabs: Housing Rights Challenge
Smart Buildings (TIE)	Colorado Smart Cities Alliance, Boulder, Colorado	EV Innovation Project
Sustainable Infrastructure	Santa Ana, California	Advanced Water Metering Infrastructure
Transportation (TIE)	Markham, Ontario, Canada	Automated Deficiency Reporting on Roads Using AI on Municipal Vehicles
Transportation (TIE)	Peachtree Corners, Georgia	Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners
Transportation Infrastructure	Center for Urban Informatics and Progress at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee	Pedestrian Analysis of the MLK Smart Corridor
Urban Planning and Land Use	Office of Innovation & Technology, Philadelphia	Using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Inspect City Roadways

The awards are designed to recognize North American municipalities’ progress in implementing smart cities projects. A key goal of the program is to share best practices and promote the acceleration of smart city developments.

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Last year Toronto cancelled its “Smart City” plans due to public pressure (see 1, 2); whereas in the U.S., legislators are determined to fund more of them (see 1, 2). Argh.